The Image of War as Perceived by Primary School Students (Displaced and their Normal Peers): an Analytical Study with Drawings

Abstract

The study aims to identify the current perception of the image of war as a final image of displaced primary school students and their normal peers (non-displaced) through analyzing their drawings, and to identify what the differences are in the perception of the image of war among displaced students and their normal peers in terms of gender and age (6-12 years). 100 male and female students were selected intentionally from a primary school as displaced and non-displaced students. The researcher adopted a scale for children’s perception of war through drawing (Children’s War Drawing Perception Scale), which is a national tool designed to analyze the content (symbolic and emotional) in the drawings of children who were exposed to war or displacement conditions. The tool consists of five main dimensions symbolized by the letters (W1-W5), as they represent all two dimensions of an integrated psychological nature. The results showed that prominent displaced people show high levels in the two dimensions (W1 war elements and W2 emotional aspect) to perceive the image of war related to the distinction of the object and elements of war and distinctive emotions compared to their peers who live in natural environments. These results showed a rise in perception of displaced students when they initiated the elements (sensory, visual, emotional, and affective) that contribute to war. At the same time, the responses of the general peers were more interactive with their creativity for the three dimensions, which are protection and security, hope and flexibility, and the self-child, than The results showed that the displaced people, regardless of gender (male or female), overcame the elements (fear, tension, and violence) for what they lived through from war experiences and their peers more than clarifying social relations or as protection through the use of visuals in their messages. With the sensory and emotional stimuli famous for war and its various elements, more than their peers who live in environments of existence, as the results showed, there is a correlation between age and the five dimensions of perception of the image of war. The older the student, the higher their level of perception of the image of war.